Consumer fabric treatment compositions are often formulated to provide improved fabric feel. Such compositions can be formulated, for example, as liquid softening compositions, dryer sheets, or detergent formulations. Unfortunately, depending on the type of softening active used, existing fabric softening compositions can suffer from a variety of disadvantages. For example, currently used actives can be excessively expensive, may, impart a greasy feel to textiles, and in some cases may cause treated fabric to become hydrophobic. In addition, some softening agents, such as quaternary ammonium compounds, can be difficult to formulate with, particularly when combined with anionic surfactants as flocculation/precipitation may occur. Further, there is a need for fabric softening agents that may be used in low water or compacted formulations, in contrast to currently used fabric softening agents which may be difficult to formulate as low-water compositions. Finally, given the concern for environmentally compatible consumer products, there remains the need for fabric care agents having an improved biodegradeability profile, as many fabric treatment agents are released with the wash/treatment water.
Thus, there is a need in the art to provide fabric care actives having improved attributes with respect to one or more of the aforementioned problems. The instant disclosure addresses one or more of the needs described above.